immediate effect

Michigan Court of Appeals rejects House Dems bid to stop 'immediate effect'

Mark Brush — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:28:47 +0000

The Michigan Court of Appeals has sided with House Republicans in the dispute over the "immediate effect" rule in that chamber.

"Immediate effect" allows bills to become effective right after the Governor signs them. The Michigan Constitution requires that bills go into effect 90 days after the end of a legislative session unless two-thirds of the legislature supports the bill.

Democrats in the House say Republican leaders have not been allowing these immediate effect votes to go forward. They took the issue to court last March.

Today's ruling is another blow to their effort to stop the practice.

From the Detroit Free Press:

In an opinion released today, a three-member panel of the appeals court sent the lawsuit back to Ingham County Circuit Court with instructions that it be dismissed.
The court said taking a voice vote is in compliance with the House rules, which the courts do not oversee.

We asked political analysts Susan Demas and Ken Sikkema about the hullabaloo last April. Here's what they had to say:

According to Sikkema, more than 90% of bills passed in the last 25 or 30 years got immediate effect. “I was elected in 1986, and the first 6 years I was in the House I was in the minority…the same thing occurred to me that House Democrats are complaining about today.”
So, could there be backlash for Republicans? “That’s certainly what House Democrats are aiming for here,” Demas says. “This is part of their ongoing, Republican corruption theme, and their assertion that they [Republicans] are not doing a good job.

Immediate effect sheds national light on Michigan, so what?

Jennifer White, Mercedes Mejia and Zoe Clark — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:39:32 +0000

Every Thursday we speak with Susan Demas, political analyst for Michigan Information and Research Service, and Ken Sikkema, former Senate Majority Leader and Senior Policy Fellow at Public Sector Consultants.

This week it’s all about the politics and policy behind immediate effect, and why it's gotten some national attention.

Hundred of bills have passed in the Michigan legislature with immediate effect tacked on. Democrats have cried foul, and issued a court challenge accusing Republicans of not taking required roll call votes.

This gets into a lot of procedural specifics and we’ve been reporting on this for a couple of weeks. Then suddenly, it hits the national stage when Rachel Maddow, a MSNBC host, picked up the story. Maddow called it “revolutionary and radical beyond radical.”

Demas says, “I think Maddow needs to calm down and maybe spend a little time in Michigan before she starts reporting on the intricacies of legislative procedure here.”

State commission puts GSRA decision on hold after court ruling

Mark Brush — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:01:00 +0000

University of Michigan graduate student research assistants (GSRAs) have wanted to hold a vote asking other GSRAs whether or not a union should be formed for decades.

In the past, they've been prevented from holding a vote because the Michigan Employment Relations Commission has not allowed a vote to go forward.

Most recently they were prevented from doing so because of a new state law banning GSRAs from forming unions at public universities in Michigan.

But the timing of when that new law goes into effect has been hotly contested in the courts.

It's a long, sordid tale that involves parliamentary rules in the State House.

An Ingham County judge had ruled the law cannot go into effect immediately, so the Commission scheduled a vote on the UM GSRA unionization vote.

But the Court of Appeals stayed the Ingham County judge's ruling on Monday, restoring the immediate effect of the GSRA unionization ban.

So today, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission decided to table a vote on whether to allow the UM GSRAs to go forward with a unionization vote.

In a 2-1 vote, the Commission said any action they take on the issue would be moot because of the latest court ruling.

State House Republicans win round in court over their use of "immediate effect"

The Associated Press — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:50:11 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals has stayed a temporary restraining order that favored Democrats in a procedural spat with House Republicans.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Clinton Canady III last week issued the order aimed at ensuring Republicans follow certain procedures when granting what is called "immediate effect" to bills approved by lawmakers.

Michigan state lawmakers waiting on a court decision on "immediate effect"

Steve Carmody — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:01:01 +0000

The Michigan Court of Appeals may rule today in a dispute about how State House Republicans are passing bills.

House Republicans have tacked on “immediate effect” provisions on more than 500 bills this year. That means the bills will become law as soon as Governor Snyder signs them. But Democrats complain the “immediate effect” provisions are being added without the constitutionally required two-thirds vote.